DRAMATIC spending cuts are set to spark “a turbulent period” of protests and strikes, former Tory Cabinet minister and ex-Birmingham MP Lord Fowler has warned.

Today’s spending review is likely to contain a “severe mix” of cutbacks and tax increases, said Lord Fowler, who as Norman Fowler served in Margaret Thatcher’s Government.

Lord Fowler, who represented Sutton Coldfield from 1974 to 2001, said: “We are in for a turbulent period of demonstrations, protests and industrial action over the next couple of years.”

He was speaking as the nation waited to learn exactly what will be cut in today’s spending review.

Ministers are expected to announce they are pressing ahead with the surprise announcement made by David Cameron in Birmingham that council homes will no longer be guaranteed for life.

Speaking during a visit to the city in August, the Prime Minister revealed security of tenure for council tenants could be entirely scrapped.

The social housing budget in England is to be cut by £800 million, more than half, it has been reported.

The government will launch a consultation on the proposals later in the year.

The scale of the job cuts expected was revealed when Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was photographed holding a document which stated 490,000 posts would be lost.

Birmingham City Council will be hit as the Department for Local Government’s £33.6 billion budget is slashed. Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles gave a hint of what is to come at the recent Tory conference in the city, when he told council leader Mike Whitby at a reception: “I can promise you a lot less money.”

Universities face a massive £4.2 billion cut – with students picking up the bill through higher tuition fees – but schools in authorities such as Birmingham will enjoy a slight budget increase thanks to the introduction of a “pupil premium” targeted at youngsters in deprived areas.

Police face dramatic budget cuts of up to 12 per cent. West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Sims has already warned that more than 2,000 jobs might go.

Birmingham MP Andrew Mitchell (Con, Sutton Coldfield), the Secretary of State for International Development, has succeeded in protecting his department’s £7.7 billion bud-get.